When welding a joint along an outside corner or edge, as when fabricating a metal cabinet, it is difficult to properly maintain alignment of the welding head with the joint as the weld progresses. This results in an irregular weld bead and as the outside corner is generally exposed to view in the finished product, substantial grinding is required to smooth out the irregularities in the weld bead.
In the past, guides have been associated with welding heads to align the head with the joint to be welded. Generally, these guides have been used when welding inside corners. U.S. Pat. No. 3,670,139 discloses a mechanism for welding I-beams in which a pair of wheels are associated with the welding head and ride on the web and flange of the I-beam when welding the inside corner of the beam. However, there have been no commercially available guides for use in welding outside corners or edges.